by Jeff Inlo
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Voth Stonepillar growled at the dwarves in front of him. His forces were not moving quickly enough through the tunnels. He was trapped below the surface long beyond what he had hoped. Worse, he began hearing reports of battles, battles with unsettling outcomes. Dwarf casualty reports were mounting even as he stood stuck in that infernal tunnel.
"What is happening?" he demanded of his aide-de-camp.
The aide could not answer. He was stuck as well, and there was no room in the tunnel for a forward runner. Every single branch of the main tunnel was clogged with dwarf warriors. Only rumors drifted back from the lines.
"Why aren't we moving?" Voth demanded again.
"The main body of our force is progressing," the aide assured without really knowing.
"How do you know?" Voth snarled.
The aide decided to return to silence.
Voth's patience was at an end. He began pushing his way forward. Warriors ahead of him scowled and cursed, until they saw his armor crest. In the presence of the War Com, they quickly bit back their complaints.
Voth moved to a sub-tunnel which led to the western edge of Burbon. He continued to press through the packed corridor even as his aide became trapped in the cluster of dwarves. Cursing and shouting, the new War Com pushed to the end of the passage. Just at the surfacing point, his eyes fell heavily upon the dwarf in charge of attack coordination. His hands fell even heavier as he took hold of the monitor by the armor.
"What is going on?"
"We are being slowed," the monitor replied with distaste for Voth's hold upon him.
Voth did not remove his thick hands. "Slowed by what?!"
The coordinator pushed Voth's hands away. He had no love or respect for this War Com. Strog was the true War Com, replaced unjustly by the royalist swine that dared to call herself queen.
Voth stared in disbelief at the monitor's disrespect. "Slowed by what?" he repeated.
"Resistance!" the coordinator replied with defiance.
"Resistance? From the humans? That's impossible. Get these warriors moving. I want them up on the surface immediately!"
"Fine."
The coordinator waved to the waiting warriors. "You heard the War Com. Get moving. Everybody moves."
The first warriors in line hesitated.
Voth exploded. He grabbed one around the waist and literally threw the warrior up beyond the opening. He grabbed others waiting behind and forced them upon the surface as well. The line started to move and Voth's face lit up with satisfaction. He turned upon the coordinator with vengeance.
"You are relieved of your post and duty. The queen will be interested to hear how you have slowed our progress."
The monitor did not need to reply. A chorus of death cries from outside the tunnel formed a response for him. He simply looked upon the War Com with his own silent satisfaction.
Voth stopped the line. "What was that?"
"The death of twenty or so warriors. Their blood is on your hands."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the resistance from the humans. They have already pinpointed this tunnel. They have nets surrounding the opening. They also have a host of archers on rooftops and out of our reach. As soon as our warriors file into a formation to tear down the nets, they get routed."
"Archers? Nets?"
"Yes. Leaving this tunnel is like committing suicide."
"Then send them down another tunnel," Voth ordered.
"Which one? There are only eight. There are already too many dwarves per surfacing point. We have close to a thousand dwarves backed up at this one alone. Every one is clogged and I assume every one is under heavy attack."
"This can't be!"
"But it is. If we had used Strog's battle plan, this never would have happened. Our entire force would already be upon the surface. We would have been able to bring down the walls and buildings the archers are standing upon. Instead, we are stuck down here while the humans pick us off despite our superiority in arms, strength, and numbers."
"Strog is gone," Voth shot back, unable to respond in any other fashion. "We have to attack with what we have."
"Don't be a fool. These warriors do not deserve to die. Give them a chance at victory."
"And what is it you suggest? What great plan do you have?"
Voth did not expect an answer, but he received one just the same.
"I've already called for diggers to branch off this tunnel toward the wall. They will surface at its base. That is where the greatest number of archers are positioned. We will surface there and crumble the wall. A force commander can then take a formation to rip apart the nets that contain this tunnel. Once the nets are down, we can exit from both points. If we get four strike teams of fifty warriors each, led by seasoned force commanders, upon the streets, we can begin to take the battle to the humans."
"You ordered this on your own?"
"I did."
Voth boiled but withheld any condemnation. He turned with a defeated grumble.
"Send a runner back to keep me informed. I will see to the remainder of our forces."
